Blog: Erste + Neue | South Tyrol

The year 1900 marks an important milestone in the history of the wine industry in Kaltern: 70 owners of vineyards in Kaltern join together to form the First Cellar Cooperative Kaltern. They want to take the vinification of the grapes they produce and the marketing of their wines into their own hands in the future. In the same year, work begins on the construction of the building of architectural and historical interest, which is built in the immediate vicinity of the Überetsch railroad station. In 1925 another important step follows with the foundation of the New Cellar Cooperative. Its headquarters are also located near the train station. From the merger of these two cooperatives and the incorporation of the cellar cooperative Baron Josef di Pauli in 1991, the Erste+Neue Kellereigenossenschaft Kaltern is born.

Today, 430 dedicated winegrowers bring their annual harvest to the cellar. Picturesquely, the vine terraces of the member farmers are located in the area around Lake Kaltern and on the plateau at the foot of the Mendel Mountains. The total area under cultivation is about 260 hectares and is distributed among various individual vineyards, many of whose varieties bear illustrious names. The harvests from cru and top vineyards are vinified in separate processes to produce accomplished top wines that delight connoisseurs. Thanks to the experience and experimentation of generations, Erste+Neue today skillfully develops excellent grape varieties into renowned and well-known wines. Among them are the South Tyrolean originals Gewürztraminer, Lagrein and Vernatsch as well as international greats such as Chardonnay, Pinot Noir, Cabernet and Merlot. The elegant Pinot Blanc and the fruity Sauvignon are also particularly popular.

The carefully harvested grapes ferment in the winery to produce exquisite drops. Almost daily, cellar master Gerhard Sanin tastes his protégés and attentively follows their development from grape juice to the initially cloudy raw wine, which he matures - depending on the variety and also the vintage - in wood or steel. Each barrel can tell the story of the wine that has matured in it, because each vineyard site has its own peculiarities, no two years are the same: nature repeats itself in its processes, but differs in the results. And this is good, because the wine is a product of nature and not a technical achievement of man. Only when the cellar master is convinced of this product does he bottle it. Each drop of this wine then tells of the year that produced the grape. - Gerardo

"The First & New was born from the 1986 merger of the two great cellar cooperatives of Caldaro: the First and the New. In 1991, moreover, the members of the Baron di Pauli winery were acquired. Since then, Erste & Neue has been the largest cooperative in South Tyrol in terms of members. Cellarmasters Peter Thuile and Walter Schullian launched an ambitious program to improve wine quality many years ago. The central point of this program is to encourage members to grow varieties suited to their vineyard sites, to avoid fertilizers and sprays to a large extent, and to reduce quantities." - Dr. Jens Priewe
"A fresh wind is blowing through the Erste & Neue in Kaltern, one of the oldest cooperative wineries in South Tyrol. Already, the new, young management team with President Manfred Schullian, cellar master Gerhard Sanin and sales manager Hannes Durnwalder can show remarkable results. In a very short time, they have polished up the company's image with products of the highest quality. The top segment of production is the Puntay line, which incorporates the best grape material already selected by the cellar master in the vineyard." - Gambero Rosso
"With 500 members and nearly 300 hectares of vineyards, the Erste & Neue Kellerei Kaltern is one of the largest winery cooperatives in South Tyrol. Around the picturesque Kalterer See thrives at altitudes between 200 and 600 meters on very different soils - ranging from sandy, to loamy to gravelly, from volcanic to calcareous - almost the entire range of varieties in South Tyrol. Thanks to intensive consultation with members and gentle cellar techniques, the Erste & Neue Kellerei produces not only quantity but also quality" - Falstaff